Bezabor: Uh-Oh--- sewer backup....

This is just a short note to explain why the long time between posts. We returned from the American Conservation Film Festival late Saturday evening. Upon entering the house we noticed a very strong smell and when Labashi went downstairs her first step onto our rug in the basement was a squishy one. Not good!

After a short look around, it appeared that the line to the township's sewer system had backed up into our basement. We called the 24-hour number on our township's web site and by 2300 or so we had someone onsite to check it out. It turns out the township had been doing some work on a pumping station nearby on Friday and had put a block on the sewer line while they worked. This allowed sewage to drain back from homes uphill from us, eventually pushing water and raw sewage into our basement and soaking the carpet in about three-quarters of the basement.

So since Sunday we have been working to remove everything stored in the basement, pull up and remove the soaked carpet, remove the paneling, and start on removing the lower section of drywall. We have rented a storage space at a nearby storage facility and are in the process of filling it with our personal effects (those which were not contaminated). We have a long way to go but can see progress daily. At this point we have the basement cleared and the standing water out but the concrete is still damp. We have professional help coming for the disinfection step and then we need to start re-finishing the basement.